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Wednesday, September 3, 2014

It
is hard to conceive, but at one time Indiana was the center of the pop culture
universe. When you look at the state now, you can’t imagine the attention that
was given to the Indiana State Fair on September 3, 1964. The Beatles had
appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show the previous February 9, and with two more
appearances on the show, took the United States by a storm. Once their American
tour was announced, the whole country went more than a little crazy to get
tickets. David Humphrey, of Indiana, has written a book that compiles the
memories of the event. Here is our interview with him:

He
also brought some items from his personal collection of Beatles artifacts
concerning their show at the fair. On the far right is a copy of David's book,
All Those Years Ago.

David's collection also included
record albums, ticket stubs and posters.

David
has many interviews with people who saw the performance, interacted with the
band, and watched from afar during the grandstand show. There are documents and
photos currently housed in the Indiana State Archives included in the book.

There
were only 32 concerts scheduled in 26 cities for the first American tour.
Originally there was only one show scheduled for the Indiana State Fair. Fans
wrote their Congressman, threatened suicide, and there were no boundaries to
the quest for tickets. After it was discovered that the Governor’s Office had
made a large ticket request that was filled, public outcry resulted in an
additional show being scheduled. Due to the Coliseum already being scheduled
for that evening with another show, the second show was held outside, in front
of the main grandstand for the dirt track.

The
voice you hear is emcee Jerry Baker, more recently familiar to Hoosiers from
his work with the Indiana State Basketball Tournaments, but in 1964 he was
known as local radio Station WIFE's Jerry Saturday. Thirty minutes and 12
songs later, the Beatles left the Coliseum. The screaming continued and the
fans relished knowing they had actually seen their idols. If you were there,
you remember that the screaming seemed to overpower the music.

The
Indiana State Fair set up "Selfie Stations" all around the
fairgrounds in celebration of the recent $53 million Coliseum
renovation. The six Coliseum “Selfie Stations” allowed visitors to snap a
picture with some of the famous celebrities and athletes that have been inside
the Coliseum over the past 75 years.

Another
way to help keep the memories of the Coliseum concert strong, Brit Beat, a
Beatles tribute band performed at the fair in 2014. The next video has their
introduction, along with the first song:

Here
are a few photos from the Brit Beat Concert

While
the Beatles only performed together for ten years, their look and music evolved
from innocent you men, as they were when they performed at the State Fair on
September 3rd, 1964.

﻿

To
their alter ego band, Sargent Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band, which allowed
the Beatles to break away from the wholesome mop top lads and experience with
their music.﻿

﻿

To the end, where they were content
to be themselves.

The
Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra has an entire “Symphony on the Prairie” series
at their outdoor venue located at Conner Prairie. Thousands of Beatles fans
gathered on the hillside to see “Classical Mystery Tour: The Music of the
Beatles.

The
first set was scheduled to be the 12 songs, in order, like there were played in
1964. Well as the weather is always changing here in the Hoosier state,
unfortunately a Severe Storm Warning was issued right as they uncovered the
speakers, and the crowd was ordered to quickly dispersed back to their cars. At
least we had a nice picnic as we watched the sun begin to set. Here are a
couple photos from last year’s Beatles tribute concert.

One
of the highlights, for Ringo and George, at least was staying at the Speedway
Motel, right next to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Track historian Donald
Davidson tells us about their visit, and a little bit of skullduggery along the
way:

So
there you have it. For one brief shining moment on September 3, 1964, the world
was watching the news reports about the Beatles thrilling thirty thousand fans
at the Indiana State Fair. Our thanks to the Indiana State Fair, David
Humphrey, Donald Davidson, and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra for all of
their help with this project.

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